Intermission
by Cairnsy
Summary: When a travelling acting group comes to the palace, Kouyuu gets in slightly over his head with his role and so Shuuei 'helps' out. Shuuei x Kouyuu.


_Notes_: Thanks for all the lovely reviews for the last fic, hopefully people will start writing pages and pages of Saiunkoku fic sometime soon. One can dream, I suppose!  
_Summary_: written for Icyjade, who wanted Kouyuu in a dress.

**Intermission.**

If Ryuuki never celebrated another birthday it would be far too soon. Kouyuu should have known that the young king's birthday would be a flamboyant affair – especially as it was Shuurei's first at the palace – but everything had been going so well that Kouyuu had naively believed that the day would stay that way.

The traveling acting band had seemed a nice enough inclusion to their afternoon lunch, and even Kouyuu had enjoyed some of their early skits. But the moment – the very moment – that they had proposed a special play starring Ryuuki's chief staff and friends, Kouyuu had known that it was all going to fall apart.

The play had naturally been a romantic period piece, and naturally starred a handsome prince and his 'beautiful' queen. Naturally, Kouyuu had been the one relegated to the romantic love interest because this was the sort of thing that _always_ happened to him.

And, damn it. Who knew dresses were so difficult to get off?

He'd played along reluctantly, but only because he just knew that Shuuei would somehow make this all even worse if he did not. Of course, he'd agreed before he'd known he's have to wear the horrible contraction known as a dress, which he was currently in the process of trying to free himself from 'between scenes'.

"Don't move, you'll only make it worse." The humor in Shuuei's voice was unmistakable. His best friend had slipped into the tiny makeshift changing area moments after Kouyuu's last scene ended, claiming to be there to help although Kouyuu seriously doubted his intentions. "It would appear that clasps are simply too complex for a mind that is more finely tuned for mathematical equations and historical dates, dare I say." And, if Shuuei was trying to hide the fact that he desperately wanted to laugh whilst he was unlacing the back of Kouyuu's dress he was doing a damn poor job of it, as Kouyuu could feel the slight, soundless tremors running through Shuuei's fingertips as he slowly worked on each clasp in turn.

"Just get on with it." The dark command only seemed to make Shuuei's fingers shake that little bit more, and Kouyuu stiffened rebelliously against their grazing touch. "Not everyone has as much experience as you do at quickly freeing others from these hellish things." His gaze narrowed slightly when Shuuei leaned in, one hand flattening against the hollow of Kouyuu's back, his teasing mouth just inches from Kouyuu's ear.

"Jealous?" Shuuei murmured lightly, his hand dipping slightly lower.

"Oh, much." The sarcasm ran richly through his voice, and Shuuei laughed lightly in response. "Of all the skills I do possess, being unable to undress a woman is surely the one that I feel naked for not having." It was perhaps the wrong choice of words, because even though his back was towards Shuuei he could feel his mischievous smile. "Shuuei …"

"Yes?" His innocent tone did nothing to dissuade Kouyuu from the belief that Shuuei was plotting something, and he let out a long suffering sigh as Shuuei chose that moment to trail his fingers teasingly down the slither of skin that had become exposed as Shuuei undid the clasps.

"Stop." The fingers stilled obediently, but the slight pressure against his back stayed deliberately in a tantalizing fashion. "I need to get changed." The small, curtain-off area would become not so curtained-off in only a handful of moments, and being caught only half dressed and with Shuuei's hands all over him was sure to give everyone the very wrong idea. He spun to face Shuuei, but his legs became tangled in the long, elaborate folds of his dress, and instead of spinning he was suddenly – and unexpectedly – falling.

Kouyuu wasn't entirely sure whether it was a blessing or a curse when Shuuei caught him, secretly strong arms catching him just before he hit the floor and holding him close as Kouyuu found his balance again. A jumbled mess of limbs and material, it took longer than it really should have to find his feet, and as a result it was also a tad too long before he felt Shuuei's soft laughter against his cheek. His angry – and very possibly violent – response was cut off by two trembling fingers placed gently against his lips, and the hand that had come to rest 'innocently' on his hip snaked slowly around his waist.

"Have I told you just how pretty you look in pink?" Merriment danced in Shuuei's eyes, and as those damnable fingers trailed down along Kouyuu's jaw and danced down Kouyuu's neck, they somehow managed to steal away his ability to breathe. "It brings out the colour in your eyes," the silky material that covered his shoulders was smoothly pushed aside, although Shuuei's hands still lingered. "It complements your hair perfectly," the ribbon that held said hair in place fell victim to nimble fingers, and pale green strands fell into rare freefall. "Al-"

"You talk too much," Kouyuu cut Shuuei off with a growl, before closing the already diminutive distance between them and capturing those always tempting lips with his own. It was so easy, too easy, to lose himself in the taste of the other man, to secretly adore that damnable smile that was still there even in moments like this. Shuuei's straying hands lost an element of their deliberateness, gaining just a touch of heat that was not so easily controlled. Ragged breaths were at least attempted in between rough, uninhibited kisses that soon lost any attempt at subtlety or restraint, but they were hardly considered all that important when there were other things such as feel and touch and heat …

… and suddenly Kouyuu was tumbling again, except this time Shuuei was falling with him. It took him a moment to realize that the sensation wasn't merely emotional.

Without someone to catch him – even worse, with someone on top of him – the fall lacked even more grace than the one that had lead to all of this, but it was the harsh intake of breath that echoed through the small hall that mattered more even than the fact that there was a sharp elbow digging deep into his ribs. Struggling once more to get back onto his feet – and when had the dress become less a dress and more a twisted sort of accessory? – it was Shuuei who rose first, all elegance and smoothness and picture perfect naivety.

The _bastard._

The smile was back, the swarmy, pretty, perfect smile that nobody loved quite as much Kouyuu did. He didn't love it now, not when it meant that Shuuei looked as composed as he always did while Kouyuu remained a tangled mess on the floor. 'Gentlemanly' Shuuei eventually helped him to his feet, but even then it felt as though he was still lost in a wave of fabric. The angry blush that stained his cheeks burnt even brighter in the face of a crowd of wide eyes that couldn't do anything but simply stare at them, but Shuuei's smile didn't even falter.

"I was helping Kouyuu with his dress." The oh-so-innocent remark did not fool even the foolish, and the silence took on an extra level of incredulous.

This was all Shuuei's fault. It was why, when Kouyuu stomped off stage, he made sure to stamp on Shuuei's foot as he went past. The simple act had consequences that Kouyuu couldn't have foreseen, as calm, unswayable Shuuei momentarily lost his balance. Momentarily was just enough, as Shuuei ended up once more on the floor, but this time without someone else to act as his cushion. This time, the laughter could not be held back by surprise or fear, and as he exited the hall, leaving a spluttering and slightly disorientated Shuuei behind on the floor, Kouyuu allowed himself a tiny smile of his own.


End file.
